Method for operating moving robot

ABSTRACT

A method of operating a mobile robot includes displaying, on a display unit, a photographing menu including a first photographing item for allowing the mobile robot to perform a specific motion for photographing and a second photographing item for allowing the mobile robot to photograph a user, displaying a screen for guiding a motion setting of the mobile robot on the display unit when the first photographing item is selected, performing, by the mobile robot, a corresponding motion based on an input motion setting for a first reference time when the motion setting of the mobile robot is input, and displaying a result screen on the display unit after the first reference time has elapsed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/438,627 filed Jun. 12, 2019, which claimspriority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Korean Application No. 10-2018-0067878filed on Jun. 14, 2018, whose entire disclosures are hereby incorporatedby reference.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The present description relates to a mobile robot and an operationmethod thereof, and more particularly, to a mobile robot capable ofproviding a guidance service and an operation method thereof.

2. Background

In public places such as airports, railway stations, harbors, departmentstores, and theaters, information is provided to users throughelectronic boards and guide boards. However, the electronic boards, theguide boards, and the like merely transfer some information selected bythe service provider in a unidirectional manner, and cannot meet thedemands of individual users.

Meanwhile, in recent years, the introduction of kiosks for providinginformation and services to users using multimedia devices such asdisplay means, touch screens, and speakers is increasing. However, evenin this case, since the user has to operate the kiosk directly, there isa problem that a user who has difficulty in using such a device isinconvenient to use the device and cannot actively respond to a requestof the user.

On the other hand, robots have been developed for industrial use andhave been in charge of a part of factory automation. In recent years,with the expansion of robot applications, medical robots, aerospacerobots, and the like have been developed, and household robots that canbe used in ordinary homes are being developed.

Therefore, research on ways to provide various services such as guidanceand advertisement in public places using robots is increasing. On theother hand, a mobile robot is capable of moving by itself, is free tomove, and has a plurality of means for avoiding obstacles duringtraveling to travel while avoiding obstacles and cliffs.

For example, Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2013-0141979 discloses amobile robot having a light source unit for irradiating light in a crosspattern and a camera unit for acquiring a forward image. An infraredsensor or an ultrasonic sensor may be used to detect an obstacle of themobile robot. The mobile robot determines the presence and distance ofthe obstacle through the infrared sensor, and the ultrasonic sensoremits the ultrasonic wave at predetermined intervals. When there is anultrasonic wave reflected by the obstacle, the mobile robot determines adistance with respect to the obstacle using a time difference between atime point at which the ultrasonic wave is emitted and a time point atwhich a reflected ultrasonic wave arrives.

The above reference is incorporated by reference herein whereappropriate for appropriate teachings of additional or alternativedetails, features and/or technical background.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments will be described in detail with reference to thefollowing drawings in which like reference numerals refer to likeelements wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a mobile robot according to anembodiment of the present description;

FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view when a mobile robot is viewed fromthe bottom according to an embodiment of the present description;

FIG. 3 is a side view of a mobile robot according to an embodiment ofthe present description;

FIG. 4 is a view illustrating arrangement of displays of a mobile robotaccording to an embodiment of the present description;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a control relationship betweenmain components of a mobile robot according to an embodiment of thepresent description;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a mobile robotaccording to an embodiment of the present description; and

FIGS. 7 to 12 are diagrams referred to in describing a method ofoperating a mobile robot according to the embodiment of the presentdescription.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present description will be described indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it shouldbe understood that the present description is not limited to theseembodiments and various changes and modifications may be made. In thedrawings, a part not related to the description in order to clearlydescribe the present description is omitted and the same referencenumerals are used for the same or similar parts throughout thespecification for consistency.

In the subsequent description, the elements used to represent suchsuffixes ‘module’ or ‘part’ has been described only in favor of thepresent description, in itself no specific meaning. Thus, the ‘module’and ‘part’ may be used mixed. It can be appreciated that, although suchterms as first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe variouselements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. Theseterms are only used to distinguish one (1) element from another element.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a mobile robot according to anembodiment of the present description, FIG. 2 is a bottom perspectiveview of the mobile robot, and FIG. 3 is a side view of the mobile robot.Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3 , a mobile robot 1 according to an embodimentof the present description may include a main body 10 that forms anouter appearance and houses various parts therein.

The main body 10 may have a long length in a vertical direction and mayhave a roly-poly toy shape which becomes thinner as it goes up from thelower part to the upper part as a whole. The main body 10 may include acase 30 forming an outer appearance of the mobile robot 1. The case 30may include a top cover 31 disposed on the upper side, a first middlecover 32 disposed under the top cover 31, a second middle cover 33 underthe first middle cover 32, and a bottom cover 34 disposed under thesecond middle cover 33. The first middle cover 32 and the second middlecover 33 may be formed to be a single middle cover.

The top cover 31 is disposed at the uppermost end of the mobile robot 1and may have a hemispherical shape or a dome shape. The top cover 31 maybe disposed at a lower height than an adult's height for easy input ofcommands from a user. The top cover 31 may be formed to rotate at apredetermined angle.

On the other hand, the top cover 31 may be disposed at the uppermost endof the mobile robot 1 and may accommodate various parts therein. Inaddition, the top cover 31 may have a shape and function similar tothose of a human head and take charge of interaction with a user.Therefore, the top cover 31 and the parts disposed therein may bereferred to as a head. Further, the configurations of the partsaccommodated in the top cover 31 or disposed outside may be referred toas a head part. On the other hand, the remaining portion disposed underthe head may be referred to as a body.

The top cover 31 may include an operation part 311 on one side of afront surface thereof. The operation part 311 may perform a function ofreceiving a command from a user. To this end, the operation part 311 mayinclude a display 312 for receiving a touch input from a user.

The display 312 disposed in the operation part 311 may be referred to asa first display or a head display 312 and a display included in adisplay unit 20 disposed in the body may be referred to as a seconddisplay or a body display 21. The head display 312 may be configured asa touch screen in which a touch pad is layered therein. In this case,the head display 312 may be used as an input device capable of inputtinginformation by a user's touch in addition to an output device.

In addition, the operation part 311 may be directed upward by a certainangle such that the user may easily operate while viewing the headdisplay 312 downward. For example, the operation part 311 may bedisposed on a surface of the top cover 31, which is formed by cutting apart of the top cover 31. Accordingly, the head display 312 may bearranged to be inclined.

In addition, the operation part 311 may have a circular or ellipticalshape as a whole. The operation part 311 may be implemented similarly toa face shape of a human. As an example, the operation part 311 may havea circular shape, and one or more structures for expressing the eyes,nose, mouth, eyebrows, and the like of a human may be disposed on theoperation part 311.

That is, a specific structure may be arranged on the operation part 311to express a human's eyes, nose, mouth, eyebrows or the like, or aspecific paint may be painted. Therefore, the operation part 311 mayhave a human's face features, thereby providing the user with anemotional feeling. Furthermore, when a robot having a human's facefeatures travels, it is possible to give a feeling that a human ismoving, thereby relieving the sense of resistance to the robot. Asanother example, one or more images for expressing a human's eyes, nose,mouth, eyebrows, and the like may be displayed on the head display 312.

That is, on the head display 312, not only information related to aroute guidance service but also various images for expressing a human'sface features may be displayed. On the head display 312, an image forexpressing a predetermined facial expression may be displayed atpredetermined time intervals or at a specific time point. On the otherhand, the direction in which the body display 21 faces is defined as a“rear direction” In addition, the opposite direction to the “reardirection is defined as a “front direction”.

The operation part 311 may be provided with a head camera unit 313 forrecognizing people and objects. The head camera unit 313 may be disposedon the upper side of the head display 312. The head camera unit 313 mayinclude a two-dimensional (2D) camera 313 a and RGBD sensors 313 b and313 c.

The 2D camera 313 a may be a sensor for recognizing a human or an objectbased on a two-dimensional image. Also, the RGBD (Red, Green, Blue,Distance) sensors 313 b and 313 c may be sensors for acquiring a human'sposition or a face image. The RGBD sensors 313 b and 313 c may besensors for detecting a human or an object using captured images havingdepth data obtained from a camera having RGBD sensors or another similar3D imaging device.

In order to accurately detect a human's position or a face image, theRGBD sensors 313 b and 313 c may be plural. For example, the two RGBDsensors 313 b and 313 c may be disposed on the left and right sides ofthe 2D camera 313 a.

The head camera unit 313 may be configured by a 3D vision sensor such asan RGBD camera sensor, and may sense whether a person is present withina predetermined distance, whether a guidance target is present in aguidance mode, a distance between a person and the mobile robot 1, amoving speed of a person or the like. Meanwhile, although not shown, theoperation part 311 may further include a physical button for directlyreceiving a command from a user.

In addition, the top cover 31 may further include a microphone 314. Themicrophone 314 may perform a function of receiving a command of an audiosignal from a user. For example, the microphone 314 may be formed atfour points in the upper portion of the top cover 31 to correctlyreceive voice commands from the user. Therefore, even when the mobilerobot 1 is traveling or the top cover 31 is rotating, it is possible toaccurately receive a request for route guidance by the voice from theuser.

In one embodiment of the present description, the top cover 31 may berotated such that the operation part 311 faces the traveling directionwhile the mobile robot 1 is traveling. When the mobile robot 1 receivesa command (e.g., a voice command) from the user while the mobile robot 1is traveling, the top cover 31 may be rotated such that the operationpart 311 faces the direction in which the user is located.

Alternatively, the top cover 31 may be rotated in a direction oppositeto the traveling direction of the mobile robot 1 when the mobile robot 1receives a command from the user while the mobile robot 1 is traveling.That is, the top cover 31 may be rotated in a direction which the bodydisplay unit 20 faces. Accordingly, the user may operate the operationpart 311 effectively while looking at route guidance service informationor the like displayed on the body display unit 20.

FIG. 4 is a view showing arrangement of the displays 312 and 20 of themobile robot 1 according to an embodiment of the present description.Referring to 4, when the mobile robot 1 receives a command from a userin an interaction state or is in a standby state, the displays 312 and20 may align in one direction, thus allowing users in a public place tomore easily look at information displayed on the displays 312 and 20.

The interaction state may be a state in which the mobile robot 1 isproviding a voice guidance, a menu screen, or the like to a certainuser, a state in which the mobile robot 1 is receiving a touch or voiceinput from the user, or a state in which the mobile robot 1 is providinga guidance service.

On the other hand, the facing direction of the operation part 311 andthe body display unit 20 may be opposite to each other. In this case,for example, the operation part 311 may be oriented toward one directionand the display unit 20 may be oriented toward the other directionopposite to the one direction. Therefore, information displayed on theoperation part 311 and the body display unit 20 may be viewed from bothdirections.

The directions in which the operation part 311 and the body display unit20 are oriented may be changed when the mobile robot 1 is traveling orstopped. For example, when the mobile robot 1 is traveling, thedirections in which the operation part 311 and the body display unit 20are oriented may be opposite to each other, as illustrated in FIG. 1 .In addition, when the mobile robot 1 is in a standby state, thedirections in which the operation part 311 and the body display unit 20are oriented may be identical to each other as illustrated in FIG. 4 .

In addition, the top cover 31 may further include an emergency operationbutton 315. The emergency operation button 315 may perform a function ofimmediately stopping the operation of the mobile robot 1 while themobile robot 1 is stopped or traveling. For example, the emergencyoperation button 315 may be disposed in the rear portion of the mobilerobot 1 so as to allow the emergency operation button 315 to be operatedeasily even when the mobile robot 1 travels forward.

The first middle cover 32 may be disposed under the top cover 31.Various electronic parts including a substrate may be disposed insidethe first middle cover 33. The first middle cover 32 may have acylindrical shape having a larger diameter as it goes downward from theupper portion.

More preferably, the first middle cover 32 may include the RGBD sensor321. The RGBD sensor 321 may detect a collision between the mobile robot1 and an obstacle while the mobile robot 1 is traveling. To this end,the RGBD sensor 321 may be disposed in a direction in which the mobilerobot 1 travels, that is, in the front portion of the first middle cover32. For example, the RGBD sensor 321 may be disposed at the upper end ofthe first middle cover 32, taking into account the height of an obstacleor a human existing in front of the mobile robot 1. However, the presentdescription is not limited thereto, and the RGBD sensor 321 may bedisposed at various positions in the front portion of the first middlecover 32.

According to an embodiment, the RGBD sensor 321 may be configured by a3D vision sensor, and may sense whether a person is present within apredetermined distance, whether a guidance target is present in aguidance mode, a distance between a person and the mobile robot 1, amoving speed of a person or the like. Depending on embodiments, the RGBDsensor 321 may not disposed in the first middle cover 32 and thefunction of the RGBD sensor 321 may be performed by the head camera unit313.

The first middle cover 32 may further include a speaker hole 322. Thespeaker hole 322 may be a hole for transferring sound generated from thespeaker to the outside. The speaker hole 322 may be formed on the outerperipheral surface of the first middle cover 32, and a single speakerhole 322 may be formed. Alternatively, a plurality of speaker holes 322may be formed on the outer peripheral surface of the first middle cover32 to be spaced apart from each other.

The first middle cover 32 may further include a stereo camera hole 323.The stereo camera hole 323 may be a hole for operation of a stereocamera (not shown) mounted inside the main body 10. For example, thestereo camera hole 323 may be formed at a lower front end of the firstmiddle cover 32. Accordingly, the stereo camera may photograph the frontarea of the mobile robot 1 through the stereo camera hole 323.

The second middle cover 33 may be disposed under the first middle cover32. A battery, a light detection and ranging (Lidar) sensor forautonomous traveling, and the like may be disposed inside the secondmiddle cover 33. Like the first middle cover 32, the second middle cover33 may have a cylindrical shape having a larger diameter as it goesdownward from the upper portion. The outer side of the second middlecover (33) may be coupled to the outer side of the first middle cover(32) without a step. That is, since the outer side of the second middlecover 33 and the outer side of the first middle cover 32 may be smoothlycoupled, the appearance of the second middle cover 33 may lookbeautiful.

Further, the first middle cover 32 and the second middle cover 33 have acylindrical shape having a larger diameter as it goes downward from theupper portion, and therefore the first middle cover 32 and the secondmiddle cover 33 may have a roly-poly toy shape as a whole. Therefore,the impact occurring when the main body 10 collides with a human or anobstacle may be alleviated.

Specifically, the second middle cover 33 may include a first cutout 331.The first cutout 331 may be formed over the front portion and sideportion of the outer peripheral surface of the second middle cover 33.The first cutout 331 may be a portion cut from the second middle cover33 such that a front Lidar 136, which will be described later, isoperable.

Specifically, the first cutout 331 may be cut to a predetermined lengthin a radial direction from the outer peripheral surface of the secondmiddle cover 33 on the front side. The front Lidar 136 is disposedinside the second middle cover 33. The first cutout 331 may be formed bycutting the outer peripheral surface of the second middle cover 33corresponding to the position of the front Lidar 136 along a peripheryof the second middle cover 33. That is, the first cutout 331 and thefront Lidar 136 may face each other. Therefore, the front Lidar 136 maybe exposed to the outside by the first cutout 331.

For example, the first cutout 331 may be formed by cutting the frontportion of the second middle cover 33 along the periphery by 270degrees. The reason why the first cutout 331 is formed in the secondmiddle cover 33 is to prevent laser emitted from the front Lidar 136from being directly irradiated to the eyes of an adult or a child.

In addition, the second middle cover 33 may further include a secondcutout 332. The second cut portion 332 may be formed over the rearportion to side portion of the outer peripheral surface of the secondmiddle cover 33. The second cutout 332 is a portion cut from the secondmiddle cover 33 such that a rear Lidar 118, which will be describedlater, is operable.

Specifically, the second cutout 332 may be cut to a predetermined lengthin a radial direction from the outer peripheral surface of the secondmiddle cover 33 on the rear side. The rear Lidar 118 is disposed insidethe second middle cover 33. The second cutout 332 may be formed bycutting the outer peripheral surface of the second middle cover 33 froma position corresponding to the position of the rear Lidar 118 along theperiphery thereof. Therefore, the rear Lidar 118 may be exposed to theoutside by the second cutout 332. For example, the second cutout 332 maybe formed by cutting the rear portion of the second middle cover 33along the periphery by 130 degrees.

In the present embodiment, the first cutout 331 may be spaced apart fromthe second cutout 332 in the vertical direction so as not to be coupledthereto. The first cutout 331 may be disposed higher than the secondcutout 332.

When the first cutout 331 and the second cutout 332 are located on thesame line, laser emitted from the Lidar of one mobile robot may beirradiated to a Lidar of another mobile robot. In this case, the lasersrespectively emitted from the Lidars of the mobile robots may interferewith each other thereby causing accurate distance detection to bedifficult. In this case, since it is impossible to detect a distancebetween the mobile robot and an obstacle, normal traveling may bedifficult and a problem that the mobile robot and the obstacle collidewith each other may occur.

Further, the second middle cover 33 may be further provided with anultrasonic sensor 333. The ultrasonic sensor 333 may be a sensor formeasuring a distance between an obstacle and the mobile robot 1 using anultrasonic signal. The ultrasonic sensor 333 may perform a function ofdetecting an obstacle close to the mobile robot 1.

For example, the ultrasonic sensor 333 may be configured by severalsensors to detect obstacles close to the mobile robot 1 in alldirections. The plurality of ultrasonic sensors 333 may be spaced apartfrom each other in the lower end of the second middle cover 33 along theperiphery.

The bottom cover 34 may be disposed under the second middle cover 33. Awheel 112, a caster 112 a, and the like may be disposed inside thebottom cover. Unlike the first middle cover 32 and the second middlecover 33, the bottom cover 34 may have a cylindrical shape having asmaller diameter as it goes downward from the upper portion. That is,the main body 10 has a roly-poly toy shape as a whole to reduce theamount of impact applied when the robot is in a collision state, and thelower end of the main body 10 has an inward tapered structure to preventa human foot from being caught by the wheel of the robot.

Specifically, a base 111 may be disposed inside the bottom cover 34. Thebase 111 may form a bottom surface of the mobile robot 1. The base 111may be provided with wheels 112 for traveling of the mobile robot 1. Thewheels 112 may be positioned on the left and right sides of the base111, respectively.

In addition, the base 111 may be provided with the caster 112 a forassisting the traveling of the mobile robot 1. Here, the caster 112 amay be composed of a plurality of casters for manual movement of themobile robot 1. For example, two casters 112 a may be positioned in eachof the front portion and rear portion of the base 111. According to theabove-described caster structure, when the power supply of the mobilerobot 1 is turned off or the mobile robot 1 is to be manually moved, themobile robot 1 may be pushed and moved without applying a large force.

The bottom cover 34 may be provided with light emitting modules 40 eachincluding one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs), and at least one ofthe light emitting modules 40 may be turned on or off according to theoperation state of the mobile robot. For example, at least one of thelight emitting modules 40 may output light of a predetermined color ormay blink at predetermined cycles according to an operation state of themobile robot. In addition, two or more light emitting modules among thelight emitting modules 40 may output light in a predetermined patternaccording to the operation state of the mobile robot.

The light emitting modules 40 each may include one or more lightemitting diodes as a light source. When a plurality of light sources areprovided, the plurality of light sources may be arranged with a constantpitch for supply of uniform light. The number of light sources and thepitch may be set in consideration of the light intensity. Further, theplurality of light sources may be white in color, or the colors ofadjacent light sources may be mixed to emit white light.

The light source may include not only a single light emitting diode butalso an aggregate in which a plurality of light emitting diodes arearranged close to each other. It is also possible to include, forexample, a case in which red, blue, and green light emitting diodes,which are three primary colors of light, are disposed close to eachother.

Preferably, the light emitting modules 40 may be disposed along theperiphery of the bottom cover 34. For example, the light emittingmodules 40 may be disposed on a certain circle that surrounds theperiphery of the bottom cover 34 in the horizontal direction.

The light emitting modules 40 may be disposed in the bottom cover 34that is the lower end of the mobile robot 1, so that the light emittingmodules 40 may be disposed at a position considerably lower than a humaneye level. Accordingly, when the light emitting modules 40 continuouslyoutput a specific light or blink, people may feel less glare.

The light emitting modules 40 are arranged so as to surround theperiphery of the bottom cover 34 in the horizontal direction, so thatpeople may see light emitted from the light emitting modules 40 in anydirection of 360 degrees. The light emitting modules 40 are disposed inthe bottom cover 34 to be spaced apart from the body display 21, whichdisplays a predetermined image. Accordingly, it is possible to preventthe output light of the light emitting modules 40 and the output imageof the body display 21 from deteriorating visibility of each other.

In addition, the light emitting modules 40 may have a plurality of rowsand may be arranged in multiple stages. Accordingly, visibility of lightoutput by the light emitting modules 40 may be further improved. Forexample, the light emitting modules 40 may be arranged in three rows 41,42, and 43 with different lengths. In this case, the row 41 of the threerows 41, 42, and 43, located at the lowermost end may have the shortestlength.

More preferably, the light emitting modules 40 may be arranged to have aplurality of rows and columns. For example, the light emitting modules40 may be arranged in the three rows 41, 42 and 43, and each row 41, 42and 43 may include a plurality of light emitting modules which areindependently controllable. Accordingly, the light emitting modules 40may have a plurality of rows and columns, and when the entire lightemitting modules 40 are unfolded, they are arranged in the form of amatrix of M×N.

The body display unit 20 may be formed to elongate in the verticaldirection on one side of the mobile robot 1. Specifically, the bodydisplay unit 20 may include a body display 21 and a support 22. The bodydisplay 21 may be positioned behind the first middle cover 32. The bodydisplay 21 may perform a function of outputting visual information(e.g., airport gate inquiry information or route guidance serviceinformation.) related to a service currently being provided.

The body display 21 may be a curved display having a shape curvedoutward with a predetermined curvature. That is, the body display 21 mayhave a concave shape as a whole. The body display 21 may have a shapethat tilts backward as it goes downward from the upper portion. In otherwords, the body display 21 may be formed to be gradually far away fromthe case 30 as it goes downward from the upper portion.

According to the structure of the display unit described above, not onlyinformation displayed on the body display 21 is visible even at aposition far from the mobile robot 1 but also the information displayedon the body display 21 is viewed as not being distorted at variousangles.

In addition, according to the embodiment of the present description, themobile robot 1 may move along a set route to guide the user to theroute. A user may see the body display unit 20 mounted on the rearportion of the mobile robot 1 while moving along the mobile robot 1.That is, even when the mobile robot 1 travels for guiding the route, theuser may easily see the information displayed on the body display unit20 while following the mobile robot 1.

The upper end of the body display 21 may extend to the upper end of thefirst middle cover 32 and the lower end of the body display 21 mayextend to the second cutout 332. In the present embodiment, the lowerend of the body display 21 may need to be formed not to extend beyondthe second cutout 332. When the body display 21 is formed to cover thesecond cutout 332, the laser emitted from the rear Lidar 118 may hitagainst the lower end of the body display 21. In this case, a problemthat the mobile robot 1 may not be able to detect a distance to anobstacle located behind may occur.

Meanwhile, the support 22 may function to hold the body display 21 to bepositioned behind the first middle cover 32. The support 22 may extendfrom a rear surface of the body display unit 21. The support 22 may beformed to elongate in the vertical direction on the rear surface of thebody display 21 and may protrude further downward from the upperportion.

The support 22 may be inserted into the first middle cover 32 throughthe rear portion of the first middle cover 32. To this end, a throughhole (not shown) through which the support 22 passes may be formed inthe rear portion of the first middle cover 32. The through hole may beformed by cutting a part on the rear side of the outer peripheralsurface of the first middle cover 32.

The body display unit 20 may be fixed to the inside of the main body 10by a separate fixing member 138. The fixing member 138 for fixing thebody display unit 20 to the main body 10 may be provided in the mainbody 10. One side of the fixing member 138 may be fixed to the body 10and the other side thereof may be fixed to the body display unit 20. Tothis end, the other side of the fixing member 138 may protrude to theoutside of the case 30 by passing through the through hole. That is, thesupport 22 and the fixing member 138 may be positioned together in thethrough hole.

In the present embodiment, the body display unit 20 may be fastened tothe fixing member 138 by fastening means. In this case, the support 22of the body display unit 20 may be placed on the fixing member 138. Inother words, the support 22 may be mounted on the fixing member 138, anda part of the fixing member 138 may be fixed to a part of the bodydisplay unit 20. With such a fixing structure for the display unit, thebody display unit 20 may be stably positioned at the rear of the firstmiddle cover 32.

In addition, the body display unit 20 may further include a ticket inputport 50. Although the ticket input port 50 is illustrated as beingdisposed in the body display unit 20 in the present embodiment, thepresent description is not limited thereto. The ticket input port 50 maybe disposed in another portion of the mobile robot 1.

Meanwhile, the mobile robot 1 may include a scanner (not shown) forscanning a ticket inserted into the ticket input port 50, and thescanner may be activated under the control of a control unit 740.According to an embodiment of the present description, when a ticketsuch as an airline ticket or a baggage ticket is inserted into theticket input port 50, the scanner provided inside the mobile robot 1 mayscan a bar code, a QR code contained in the ticket.

In addition, the mobile robot 1 may display a scan result on the bodydisplay 21, and provide a user with gate information, counterinformation, or the like according to the scan result.

The body display unit 20 may further include a body camera unit 25 foridentifying and tracking a guidance object. The body camera unit 25 maybe configured by a 3D vision sensor such as an RGBD camera sensor, andmay sense whether a person is present within a predetermined distance,whether a guidance target is present in a guidance mode, a distancebetween a person and the mobile robot 1, a moving speed of a person orthe like. According to embodiments, the mobile robot 1 may not includethe body camera unit 25, but may further include a sensor foridentifying and tracking a guidance target disposed at another portion.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a control relationship betweenmain components of a mobile robot according to an embodiment of thepresent description. Referring to FIG. 5 , a mobile robot 1 according toan embodiment of the present description may include a speech input unit725 for receiving a user's speech input through a microphone 314, astorage unit 730 for storing various data, a communication unit 790 fortransmitting/receiving data to/from another electronic device such as aserver (not shown), a light emitting unit 750 including at least onelight emitting module for outputting light to the outside, and a controlunit 740 for controlling overall operation of the mobile robot 1.

The speech input unit 725 may include a processor that converts analogsound into digital data or may be connected to the processor to convertthe user input speech signal into data to be recognized by the controlunit 740 or a server (not shown). The control unit 740 may control thespeech input unit 725, the storage unit 730, the light emitting unit750, the communication unit 790 and the like constituting the mobilerobot 1 to control the overall operation of the mobile robot 1.

The storage unit 730 may record various kinds of information necessaryfor controlling the mobile robot 1, and may include a volatile ornonvolatile recording medium. The recording medium may store data thatis readable by a microprocessor, and may include a hard disk drive(HDD), a solid state disk (SSD), a silicon disk drive (SDD), a ROM, aRAM, a CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, optical data storage, and thelike. In addition, the storage unit 730 may store various data necessaryfor the mobile robot 1 to provide a guidance service.

Also, the control unit 740 may transmit an operation state of the mobilerobot 1, a user input, or the like to the server through thecommunication unit 790. The communication unit 790 may include at leastone communication module to allow the mobile robot 1 to be connected tothe Internet or a predetermined network.

Meanwhile, data for speech recognition may be stored in the storage unit730, and the control unit 740 may process a speech input signal of theuser received through the speech input unit 725 and perform a speechrecognition process. On the other hand, the control unit 740 may allowthe mobile robot 1 to perform a predetermined operation based on aresult of the speech recognition.

For example, when a command contained in the speech signal is a commandfor requesting predetermined information such as flight startinformation and sightseeing guide information, the control unit 740 mayallow the display unit 710 to display the predetermined information suchas flight start information and sightseeing guide information.

In addition, when there is a guide request from a user, the control unit740 may allow the mobile robot 1 to escort the user to a guidancedestination selected by the user. On the other hand, the speechrecognition process may be performed in the server, not in the mobilerobot 1 itself. In this case, the control unit 740 may allow thecommunication unit 790 to transmit the user input speech signal to theserver, and may receive a recognition result of the speech signal fromthe server through the communication unit 790. Alternatively, the mobilerobot 1 may perform simple speech recognition such as recognition of acall, and high-dimensional speech recognition such as natural languageprocessing may be performed in the server.

Meanwhile, the mobile robot 1 may include a display unit 710 thatdisplays predetermined information as an image and a sound output unit780 that outputs predetermined information as an acoustic signal. Thedisplay unit 710 may display information corresponding to a requestinput by a user, a processing result corresponding to a request input bythe user, an operation mode, an operation state, an error state, and thelike.

As described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 , the display unit 710may include the head display 312 and the body display 21. Since the bodydisplay 21 is relatively larger in size than the head display 312, itmay be preferable to display the information on the body display 21 in alarge screen.

In addition, the sound output unit 780 may output an alert sound, anotification message such as an operation mode, an operation state, oran error state, information corresponding to a request input by theuser, a processing result corresponding to a request input by the user,and the like, in an acoustic manner. The sound output unit 780 mayconvert an electrical signal from the control unit 740 into an audiosignal and output it. For this purpose, a speaker or the like may beprovided.

Meanwhile, the mobile robot 1 may include an image acquiring unit 718capable of photographing a predetermined range. The image acquiring unit718 photographs surroundings of the mobile robot 1, externalenvironment, and the like, and may include a camera module. Severalcameras may be installed for each part of the mobile robot 1 forphotographing efficiency.

For example, as described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 , theimage acquiring unit 718 may include a head camera unit 313 forrecognizing a person and an object, and a body camera unit (25) foridentifying and tracking a guidance target. However, the number,arrangement, type, and photographing range of the cameras included inthe image acquiring unit 718 are not necessarily limited thereto.

The image acquiring unit 718 may photograph an image for userrecognition. The control unit (or controller) 740 may determine anexternal situation or recognize a user (guidance target) based on theimage acquired by the photographing of the image acquiring unit 718.Also, the control unit 740 may allow the mobile robot 1 to travel basedon the image acquired by the photographing of the image acquiring unit718. The control unit 740 may include at least one processor to performcomputations related to executing software instructions related tocontrolling the various components of the robot 1, as described herein.

Meanwhile, the image acquired by the photographing of the imageacquiring unit 718 may be stored in the storage unit 730. Meanwhile, themobile robot 1 may include a driving unit 760 for moving, and thedriving unit 760 may move the main body 10 under the control of thecontrol unit 740.

The driving unit 760 may include one or more driving wheels 112 formoving the main body 10 of the mobile robot 1. The driving unit 760 mayinclude a driving motor (not shown) connected to the driving wheels 112to rotate the driving wheels. The driving wheels 112 may be provided onthe left and right sides of the main body 10, respectively, and will bereferred to as left and right wheels, respectively.

The left wheel and the right wheel may be driven by a single drivemotor, but a left wheel driving motor for driving the left wheel and aright wheel driving motor for driving the right wheel may be provided ifnecessary. The traveling direction of the main body 10 may be changed tothe left or right side by making a difference in the rotation speeds ofthe left and right wheels.

Meanwhile, the mobile robot 1 may include a sensor unit 770 includingsensors for sensing various data related to the operation and state ofthe mobile robot 1. The sensor unit 770 may include an obstacledetection sensor that detects an obstacle. The obstacle detection sensormay include an infrared sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, an RF sensor, ageomagnetic sensor, a position sensitive device (PSD) sensor, or thelike. For example, the obstacle detection sensor may correspond to theultrasonic sensor 333, the RGBD sensor 321, and the like described abovewith reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 . In addition, the sensor unit 770 mayfurther include a cliff detection sensor 113 that detects the presenceor absence of a cliff on the floor in a traveling area.

According to an embodiment, the sensor unit 770 may further include asensor that senses a size (e.g., volume) of a sound obtained through themicrophone 314, and therefore, sense a size of a speech uttered by theuser, a size of ambient noise. Alternatively, the speech input unit 725may determine the size of the user's speech or the ambient noise in aprocess of processing the signal obtained through the microphone 314,without further including a separate sensor.

In addition, the sensor unit 770 may include Lidars (light detection andranging) sensors 136 and 118. The Lidars 136 and 118 may detect anobject such as an obstacle based on a TOF (Time of Flight) of atransmission signal and a reception signal or a phase difference betweena transmission signal and a reception signal using a laser light as amedium.

Further, the Lidars 132 a and 132 b may detect a distance to the object,a relative speed with respect to the object, and a position of theobject. The Lidars 132 a and 132 b may be provided as a part of theconfiguration of the obstacle detection sensor. Also, the Lidars 132 aand 132 b may be provided as a sensor for creating a map.

On the other hand, the obstacle detection sensor may detect an object,particularly an obstacle, existing in a traveling direction (movementdirection) of the mobile robot, and transmit obstacle information to thecontrol unit 740. In this case, the control unit 740 may control themovement of the mobile robot 1 according to a position of the detectedobstacle.

The sensor unit 770 may further include a motion detection sensor thatdetects a motion of the mobile robot 1 according to driving of the mainbody 101 and outputs motion information. For example, a gyro sensor, awheel sensor, an acceleration sensor, or the like may be used as themotion detection sensor.

The gyro sensor may sense a rotation direction and detect a rotationangle when the mobile robot 1 moves according to an operation mode. Thegyro sensor may detect an angular velocity of the mobile robot 1 andoutput a voltage value proportional to the angular velocity. The controlunit 740 may calculate a rotation direction and a rotation angle usingthe voltage value output from the gyro sensor.

The wheel sensor is connected to the left and right wheels to detect thenumbers of rotations of the wheels. In this case, the wheel sensor maybe a rotary encoder. The rotary encoder may sense and output the numbersof rotations of the left and right wheels.

The control unit 740 may calculate rotation speeds of the left and rightwheels using the numbers of the rotations. Also, the control unit 740may calculate a rotation angle using a difference in the numbers ofrotations of the left and right wheels.

The acceleration sensor may detect a change in the speed of the mobilerobot 1, for example, a change in the mobile robot 1 caused due tostart, stop, and direction change, collision with an object or the like.The acceleration sensor may be attached to a position adjacent to a mainwheel or an auxiliary wheel to detect the slip or idling of the wheel.

In addition, the acceleration sensor may be built in the control unit740 to detect a change in the speed of the mobile robot 1. That is, theacceleration sensor may detect the amount of impact according to thechange in the speed and output a voltage value corresponding to theamount of impact. Thus, the acceleration sensor may perform the functionof an electronic bumper.

The control unit 740 may calculate the positional change of the mobilerobot 1 based on the operation information output from the motiondetection sensor. The position of the mobile robot 1 may be a relativeposition with respect to an absolute position using image information.The mobile robot may improve the performance of the position recognitionusing the image information and the obstacle information throughrecognition of the relative position.

The light emitting unit 750 may include a plurality of light emittingmodules. For example, as described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 , thelight emitting portion 750 may include light emitting modules 40 eachincluding one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs). The light emittingmodules 40 may be disposed in the bottom cover 34 and the light emittingmodules 40 may be operated under the control of the control unit 740.

For example, the control unit 740 may control the light emitting modules40 such that at least one of the light emitting modules 40 outputs lightof a predetermined color or blinks at predetermined intervals accordingto an operation state of the mobile robot. In addition, the control unit740 may perform control such that two or more of the light emittingmodules output light in a predetermined pattern according to theoperation state of the mobile robot.

As described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5 , the mobile robot 1according to an embodiment of the present description may include a topcover 31 provided to be rotatable, a first display 312 disposed in thetop cover 31, a second display 21 having a size larger than the firstdisplay 312, middle covers 32 and 33 coupled to the second display 21and the top cover 31, a bottom cover 34 disposed under the middle covers32 and 33, a light emitting unit 750 including light emitting modules 40disposed along a periphery of the bottom cover 34, and a control unit740 that controls the light emitting modules 40 based on a current stateof the mobile robot 1.

Each of the light emitting modules 40 of the light emitting unit 750 mayinclude at least one light source. For example, the light emittingmodules 40 each may include one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs).Conventional analog lighting has a limitation in precisely controllingthe illuminance, but the light emitting diode (LED) may preciselycontrol the illuminance by adjusting an amount of applied current and awidth of a driving pulse. Also, when the light emitting diodes (LEDs) ofR, G, and B colors are provided in a combination, light of a specificcolor may be provided and adjustment of a color temperature may befacilitated.

The light emitting diode (LED) may be a single color light emittingdiode (LED) such as red, blue, green, and white. According to anembodiment, the light emitting diode (LED) may be a multicolor lightemitting diode (LED) capable of reproducing a plurality of colors.

The light emitting modules 40 may include a plurality of light emittingdiodes (LEDs), and the plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) mayemit white light to provide white light, or red, blue, and green lightemitting diodes (LEDs) may be combined to provide light of a specificcolor or white light.

For example, the light emitting modules 40 may output light of a firstcolor (white) indicating a normal operation state, light of a secondcolor (yellow) indicating a pause state, and light of a third color(red) indicating a stop and error state. The light emitting modules 40may indicate a current operation state through output light with colorsand patterns and may serve as a kind of signal light for notifyingpeople of the traveling state and operation state of the mobile robot 1.

In addition, the control unit 740 may control the light emitting unit750. For example, the control unit 740 may allow at least one of thelight emitting modules 40 to output light of a predetermined coloraccording to a current state of the mobile robot 1. In addition, thecontrol unit 740 may allow at least one of the light emitting modules 40to flicker at predetermined intervals for a predetermined time.

When a user approaches the mobile robot 1 for identification ofinformation, input of settings, or other operation or when a child orthe like touches the mobile robot 1 with curiosity during moving(traveling) of the mobile robot 1, continuous traveling of the mobilerobot 1 may cause a safety accident such as a collision. In particular,public places such as airports, railway stations, terminals, departmentstores, and marts have a large number of floating population, and thereare many unexpected variables that lead to a higher possibility ofoccurrence of safety accidents.

Accordingly, the mobile robot 1 according to the present descriptionoutputs light indicating a current operation state of the mobile robot 1through the light emitting unit 750 when operating in a public place,thereby providing signal information for facilitating easy recognitionof the current state of the mobile robot 1. Accordingly, it is possibleto reduce the possibility of an accident between a person and the mobilerobot 1 in a public place.

The light emitting modules 40 are disposed apart from the second display21 in the bottom cover 34 at the lower end of the mobile robot 1 therebybeing placed at a relatively lower position than the eye height of ahuman and the height of the second display 21. Accordingly, when thelight emitting modules 40 continuously output the specific light orflicker, people may feel less glare, and the output light of the lightemitting modules 40 and the output image of the body display 21 may beprevented from deteriorating the visibility of each other.

Preferably, the light emitting modules 40 may be disposed along theperiphery of the bottom cover 34. The light emitting modules 40 arearranged so as to surround the periphery of the bottom cover 34 in thehorizontal direction, so that people may see light emitted from thelight emitting modules 40 in any direction of 360 degrees. Meanwhile,the light emitting modules 40 may have a plurality of rows and may bearranged in multiple stages. Accordingly, visibility of light output bythe light emitting modules 40 may be further improved.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a mobile robotaccording to an embodiment of the present description, and FIGS. 7 to 12are diagrams referred to a in describing a method of operating a mobilerobot according to an embodiment of the present description. FIGS. 6 and7 , a photographing menu 720, including a first photographing item (orfirst graphical object) 721 for allowing the mobile robot 1 to performsa specific operation for photographing and a second photographing item(or second graphical object) 722 for allowing the mobile robot 1 tophotograph a user, is displayed on the display unit 710 (S610).

A user interface screen for photographing 700 may include a globalnavigation bar area 710 at the top in which menus and state informationor the like, which are accessible from any screen, are displayed and aphotographing menu 720 at the bottom. The display unit 710 of the mobilerobot 1 according to an embodiment of the present description mayinclude a first display 312 that displays a facial expression or thelike and a second display 21 that displays various information on alarge screen.

In this case, the user interface screen for photographing 700 may bedisplayed on the second display 21. In addition, while the userinterface screen for photographing 700 is displayed on the seconddisplay 21, the first display 312 may display a face and/or eyeexpression image corresponding to “joy’ so as to attract the user'sattention and enable the user to have a good feeling.

On the other hand, the photographing menu 720 may be displayed after themobile robot 1 guides a predetermined guide destination or when themobile robot 1 is in a standby mode. For example, after the mobile robot1 provides a user with an escort service while moving to a predeterminedguide destination, the mobile robot 1 may guide the arrival to thedestination (S1050). In this case, a user interface screen related tophotographing, service evaluation, and the like may be displayed on thesecond display 21.

According to the user's speech input or touch input, the mobile robot 1may perform photographing, service evaluation, and the like.Alternatively, the photographing menu 720 may be included in one of idlescreens displayed when the mobile robot 1 is in a standby state.Alternatively, when the mobile robot 1 displays a main menu screen onthe display unit 710 and the user touches a photographing item, that is,one of menu items included in the main menu screen, or requestsphotographing by speech input, the user interface screen 700 includingthe photographing menu 720 may be displayed on the second display 21.

On the other hand, the first photographing item 721 may allow the mobilerobot 1 to perform a specific motion or other function for photographingand may be referred to as a ‘(robot-) together photographing item’. Theuser may instruct the mobile robot 1 to perform the specific motion orother function for the robot-together photographing by touching thefirst photographing item 721 by inputting speech corresponding to thefirst photographing item 721. As described below, the photographing item721 may relate to controlling the robot 1 to perform various movementsor other operations related to posing for an image to be captured byanother robot 1 or by a user using another device (e.g., a user cameraor a mobile device having a camera function).

The second photographing item 722 may be a photographing service forallowing the mobile robot 1 to photograph a user and may be referred toas a “(robot) photographing item” or a “general photographing item”. Theuser may instruct the mobile robot 1 to photograph the user by touchingthe second photographing item 722 by inputting speech corresponding tothe second photographing item 722.

That is, the first photographing item 721 may correspond to a servicefor photographing in which both the user and the mobile robot 1 aresubjects, and the second photographing item 722 may correspond to aservice for photographing in which the user is a subject. On the otherhand, the first photographing item 721 may include an icon having aperson and a moving robot in a photograph area, and an objectrepresenting a service for photographing by the mobile robot 1, such asa text of “Are you ready to take pictures with me?”.

In addition, the second photographing item 722 may include an iconhaving only a person in a photograph area, and an object representing aservice for photographing by the mobile robot 1, such as a text of “Iwill take a nice photo” Users who use public places such as airports mayoften carry cameras. Even when a separate camera is not carried, in manycases, the user's mobile terminal is equipped with a camera. Further,the use may have a great deal of interest in and a good feeling aboutthe mobile robot 1, and therefore, may want to shoot the mobile robot 1or take a picture with the mobile robot 1.

Accordingly, the mobile robot 1 according to the present description mayperform a specific motion or other function designated by the user,thereby providing a service for allowing the user to more smoothly takea picture together with the mobile robot 1. To this end, when the firstphotographing item 711 is selected (S620), the control unit 740 mayallow the second display 21 to display a screen for guiding posingsettings of the mobile robot 1 (S630).

For example, the motion setting of the mobile robot 1 may be a settingfor selecting a facial image displayed on the first display 21 of themobile robot 1 during a preset first reference time. In this case, thescreen for guiding the motion setting of the mobile robot 1 may be asetting screen for selecting a facial expression image displayed on thefirst display 21. According to embodiments, when the first photographingitem 711 is selected (S620), the control unit 740 may allow the soundoutput unit 780 to output a voice guidance message to guide the motionsetting of the mobile robot 1.

FIG. 8 shows an example of selecting a facial expression image.Referring to FIG. 8 , a screen 810 that guides the motion setting of themobile robot 1 may include a facial expression list 820 that is settableand a next item 830 that proceeds to the next step after selection.

For example, the facial expression list 820 may include a facialexpression #1 821 that is set corresponding to a “joy” or “favorite”emotion, a facial expression #2 822 that is set corresponding to a“beloved” emotion, and a facial expression #3 823 that is setcorresponding to a “wink” motion. The user may select any one of thefacial expressions 821, 822, and 823 included in the facial expressionlist 820 and select the next item 830.

FIG. 9 illustrates a next screen when the facial expression #1 821 thatis set corresponding to the “joy” or “favorite” emotion is selected.Referring to FIG. 9 , a screen 910 for guiding a motion setting of themobile robot 1 may include an example image 920 of a selected facialexpression, motion guidance 930 of the mobile robot 1, and atogether-photographing start button 940.

According to an embodiment, the motion setting of the mobile robot 1 mayfurther select a gesture motion to be performed by the mobile robot 1during a first reference time. The control unit 740 may perform controlnot only to display an image corresponding to a specific facialexpression but also to perform a gesture motion to move or rotate aspecific part such as an arm or a head in response to a user input.

In addition, since the mobile robot 1 is movable, when the user desiresto take a picture together with the mobile robot, the mobile robot 1 mayneed to stop or move in a specific pattern desired by the user to enablesmooth photographing. Accordingly, the control unit 740 may allow themobile robot 1 to stop or travel in a specific pattern in response to auser input. That is, the motion setting of the mobile robot 1 may be asetting for selecting a traveling pattern of the mobile robot 1 duringthe first reference time.

When the motion setting of the mobile robot 1 is input (S640), thecontrol unit 740 may allow the mobile robot 1 to perform a correspondingmotion for the first reference time based on the input motion setting(S650, S660). That is, the mobile robot 1 may perform the set motion(S650), and may wait while maintaining the state in which the set motionis performed for the first reference time or a set predetermined time(S660).

FIG. 10 illustrates a guidance message that may be output on a guidanceimage that may be displayed on the second display 21 or a guidancemessage that may be output through the sound output unit 780 during afirst reference time.

Referring to section A of FIG. 10 , a guidance message such as “Pleasecome next to me and pose, then take a picture with your mobile phone ora camera” may be output as an image and/or audio. Referring to section Bof FIG. 10 , when the first reference time is short, the photographingends soon. It is possible to count down the remaining time while aguidance message such as “5-4-3-2-1” is being output as an image and/oraudio.

The motion setting of the mobile robot 1 according to the presentdescription may include at least one of an image setting such as facialexpression displayed by the mobile robot 1, a gesture setting, stopping,and travel setting such as the travel pattern.

Therefore, it is possible to input various settings suitable for variousphotographing such as time-lapse photographing, and the mobile robot 1may perform a specified operation, thereby further enhancing usersatisfaction. The user may take a picture together with the mobile robot1 which is performing the specified operation for the first referencetime.

On the other hand, after the first reference time has elapsed, a resultscreen (not shown) may be displayed on the display unit 710 (S670). Forexample, the result screen may include at least one of a photographingend item or a re-photographing item. The re-photographing item may be adisplayed graphical symbol, and when the re-photographing item that,when selected by a user, causes the mobile 1 to perform another posewith the user. For example, when the user selects the re-photographingitem, it is possible to return to the step of displaying a guidancescreen for robot motions (S630) in which a motion is capable of beingagain selected. When the user selects the photographing end item orother corresponding graphical symbol, the screen displayed on thedisplay unit 710 may return to an original screen such as the mainscreen, before photographing, or may switch to a satisfaction surveyscreen and a gift provision screen.

FIG. 11 illustrates a satisfaction survey screen. Referring to FIG. 11 ,a satisfaction survey pop-up window 1100 may be displayed on the seconddisplay 21. The satisfaction survey pop-up window 1100 may include amessage 1110 for guiding the satisfaction survey and evaluation items1120 for allowing a user to select a satisfaction and performevaluation. The mobile robot 1 according to an embodiment of the presentdescription may include a gift such as a memorial card, and may presenta gift to a user when there is currently a remaining gift.

FIG. 12 illustrates a gift provision screen. Referring to FIG. 12 , thesecond display 21 may display a gift provision pop-up window 1200. Thegift provision pop-up window 1200 may include a message to guide giftprovision, an item 1210 to allow the user to reject receipt of a gift,and an item 1220 to allow the user to approve receipt of gift.

If there is no special input or the rejection item 1210 is selectedduring the preset time, the screen returns directly to the first screen,and when the approval item 1220 is selected, the user can return to theinitial screen after providing the gift. On the other hand, if thesecond photographing item 722 is selected (S625), the control unit 740can display a screen for guiding photographing of the mobile robot 1 onthe display unit 710 (S680).

A screen (not shown) for guiding the photographing of the mobile robot 1may include a photo-taking button for selecting photographing and an endbutton for ending the guide without taking a picture. In addition, thescreen for guiding the photographing of the mobile robot 1 may include avoice recognition microphone button and an audio guidance guide.

On the other hand, if the user selects photographing by touch input orvoice input, a camera view screen of the camera can be displayed on thesecond display 21. Here, the camera view (view) screen may mean a screenthat the camera is currently shooting.

The control unit 740 may control the second display 21 to display aguide message for an action to control photographing and a camera viewscreen. In accordance with the user command, the control unit 740 cancontrol the photographing of the user by using the camera of the imageacquiring unit 718 (S685). More preferably, the control unit 740 mayoutput a result of the countdown as an image and/or audio after apredetermined second reference time has elapsed, and photograph the userusing the camera of the image acquiring unit 718 (S685).

After photographing, the mobile robot 1 may display a photographingresult screen including the photographed image on the display unit 710(S690). For example, the control unit 740 may perform control such thatthe photographing result screen including the photographed image isdisplayed on the second display 21 (S690). The photographing resultscreen may include at least a photographed image, and include menu itemssuch as a photographing end item, a re-photographing item, and the like.

The control unit 740 may display the photographed picture on the firstdisplay 312 or the second display 21 after photographing and then allowthe communication unit 790 to transmit the photographed image by ane-mail or the like according to the user's selection.

According to at least one embodiment of the present description, it ispossible to provide various services such as a guidance service andvarious photographing services in a public place. According to at leastone of the embodiments of the present description, the robot may performa specific motion such that the robot and the user may be photographedtogether with the photographing service in which the robot photographsthe user. Also, according to at least one of the embodiments of thepresent description, it is possible to provide enjoyment and convenienceto the user.

Mobile robots operating in public places such as airports, trainstations, department stores, and harbors, where many people stay ormove, may perform autonomous traveling while recognizing people andobstacles, and provide various services. For example, the mobile robotmay provide a guidance service to provide guide to a specificdestination. Mobile robots operating in public places can provideenjoyment and convenience by attracting people's attention andcommunicating with people. Therefore, the mobile robot may providevarious services besides the guidance service.

An aspect of the present description provides a mobile robot capable ofproviding various services such as a guidance service and aphotographing service in a public place and an operation method thereof.An aspect of the present description provides a photographing servicefor photographing a user by the robot and performing a specific motionsuch that the robot and the user are photographed together. An aspect ofthe present description provides enjoyment and convenience to the user.

To achieve the above or other aspects, a method of operating a mobilerobot includes displaying, on a display unit, a photographing menuincluding a first photographing item for allowing the mobile robot toperform a specific motion for photographing and a second photographingitem for allowing the mobile robot to photograph a user, displaying ascreen for guiding a motion setting of the mobile robot on the displayunit when the first photographing item is selected, performing, by themobile robot, a corresponding motion based on an input motion settingfor a first reference time when the motion setting of the mobile robotis input, and displaying a result screen on the display unit after thefirst reference time has elapsed.

According to at least one embodiment of the present description, it ispossible to provide various services such as a guidance service andvarious photographing services in a public place. Further, according toat least one embodiment of the present description, the robot may notonly provide a photographing service for photographing a user by therobot but also perform a specific motion such that the robot and theuser are photographed together.

Also, according to at least one of the embodiments of the presentdescription, it is possible to provide enjoyment and convenience to theuser. Meanwhile, various other effects will be directly or implicitlydisclosed in the detailed description according to the embodiments ofthe present description.

It will be understood that when an element or layer is referred to asbeing “on” another element or layer, the element or layer can bedirectly on another element or layer or intervening elements or layers.In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on”another element or layer, there are no intervening elements or layerspresent. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and allcombinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, third,etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, components,regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions,layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These termsare only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer orsection from another region, layer or section. Thus, a first element,component, region, layer or section could be termed a second element,component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachingsof the present invention.

Spatially relative terms, such as “lower”, “upper” and the like, may beused herein for ease of description to describe the relationship of oneelement or feature to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated inthe figures. It will be understood that the spatially relative terms areintended to encompass different orientations of the device in use oroperation, in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. Forexample, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements describedas “lower” relative to other elements or features would then be oriented“upper” relative to the other elements or features. Thus, the exemplaryterm “lower” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. Thedevice may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at otherorientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used hereininterpreted accordingly.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

Embodiments of the disclosure are described herein with reference tocross-section illustrations that are schematic illustrations ofidealized embodiments (and intermediate structures) of the disclosure.As such, variations from the shapes of the illustrations as a result,for example, of manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances, are to beexpected. Thus, embodiments of the disclosure should not be construed aslimited to the particular shapes of regions illustrated herein but areto include deviations in shapes that result, for example, frommanufacturing.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will befurther understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly useddictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that isconsistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art andwill not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unlessexpressly so defined herein.

Any reference in this specification to “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” “example embodiment,” etc., means that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. Theappearances of such phrases in various places in the specification arenot necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Further, when aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic is described inconnection with any embodiment, it is submitted that it is within thepurview of one skilled in the art to effect such feature, structure, orcharacteristic in connection with other ones of the embodiments.

Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number ofillustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood that numerousother modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled inthe art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles ofthis disclosure. More particularly, various variations and modificationsare possible in the component parts and/or arrangements of the subjectcombination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure, the drawingsand the appended claims. In addition to variations and modifications inthe component parts and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also beapparent to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of operating a mobile robot, comprising:presenting, on a display, a menu that includes a first graphical objectrelated to controlling the mobile robot to photograph a user and asecond graphical object related to controlling the mobile robot to posefor a photograph with the user or to be captured by the user; performingan image capturing process based on the first graphical object beingselected, the image capturing process including: displaying, on thedisplay, a screen for guiding photographing of the user by the mobilerobot; capturing process based on the first graphical object beingcapturing an image through a camera when the user selects photographing;providing, on the display, a photographing result screen including aregion corresponding to the image; and transmitting, by a communicationinterface, the image to another device based on receiving a userselection of the captured age; and performing a posing process based onthe second graphical object being selected, the posing processincluding: providing, on the display, a facial expression listidentifying a plurality of facial expressions; providing, on the displayand when the user selects one of the plurality of facial expressions, afacial expression preview screen including an example image of theselected facial expression, a third graphical object related tocontrolling the mobile robot perform the pose, and informationidentifying a particular time during which the display presents theselected facial expression; and providing, on the display, the selectingfacial expression during particular time based on the user selecting thethird graphical object.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the screen forguiding photographing of the user includes a photo-taking graphicalbutton for selecting photographing, the image being captured when thephoto-taking graphical button is selected; and an end graphical buttonfor ending guiding photographing of the user without photographing theuser.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the screen for guidingphotographing of the user further includes a voice recognitionmicrophone graphical button, the mobile robot capturing audio of theuser when the voice recognition microphone graphical button is selected.4. The method of claim 2, wherein a camera view screen of the camera isdisplayed on the display, when the user selects photographing.
 5. Themethod of claim 4, wherein the display displays a guide message for anaction to control photographing.
 6. A mobile robot comprising: a wheelthat rotates based on a received force to move the mobile robot; adisplay; a communication interface; a camera; and a controllerconfigured to: perform a guidance function that includes at least one ofthe wheel moving the mobile robot to lead a user to a particularlocation or display presenting information related to travelling to theparticular location, based on completion of the guidance function,manage the display to present a menu that includes: a first graphicalobject related to controlling the mobile robot to photograph the user,and a second graphical object related to controlling the mobile robot topose for a photograph, the second graphical object corresponding to aservice for photographing in which both the user and the mobile robotare subjects or the mobile robot is a subject for the user; manage thedisplay to display a screen for guiding photographing the user by themobile robot when the first graphical object is selected; manage thecamera to capture an image when the user selects photographing from thescreen for guiding photographing; manage the display to present aphotographing result screen including a region corresponding to thecaptured image; manage the communication interface to transmit thecaptured image to another device based on receiving a user selectionfrom the photographing results screen; and manage the mobile robot toperform a pose during a first time based on the second graphical objectbeing selected.
 7. The mobile robot of claim 6, wherein the screen forguiding photographing of the user includes a photo-taking graphicalbutton for selecting photographing, the camera capturing the image whenthe photo-taking graphical button is selected; and an end graphicalbutton for ending guiding photographing of the user withoutphotographing the user.
 8. The mobile robot of claim 7, wherein thescreen for guiding photographing of the user further includes a voicerecognition microphone graphical button, wherein the mobile robotcomprises a microphone that captures audio when the voice recognitionmicrophone graphical button is selected.
 9. The mobile robot of claim 7,wherein the controller is configured to: manage the display to present acamera view screen of the camera when the user selects photographing.10. The mobile robot of claim 9, wherein the controller is configuredto: manage the display to present a guide message for an action tocontrol photographing.
 11. The mobile robot of claim 6, wherein thecontroller is configured to: manage the display to present a firstscreen to receive an input related to a pose setting of the mobile robotwhen the second graphical object is selected, wherein: the mobile robotperforms the pose during the first time based on an input related to thepose setting; and the input related to selecting the pose settingincludes a selection of a facial expression image to be displayed on thedisplay of the mobile robot during the first time.
 12. The mobile robotof claim 11, wherein the controller is configured to: manage the displayto present a second screen after the first time has elapsed, the secondscreen including at least one of a photographing end item, are-photographing item, or a third graphical object related tocontrolling the mobile robot to perform another pose.
 13. The mobilerobot of claim 11, wherein the first screen includes a facial expressionlist, and the input related to the pose setting of the mobile robotincludes a selection of the facial expression image from the facialexpression list to be displayed on the display of the mobile robotduring the first time.
 14. The mobile robot of claim 11, wherein theinput of the pose setting of the mobile robot further includes aselection of a gesture motion to be performed by the mobile robot duringthe first time, and wherein the controller further manages at least oneof a movement of the mobile robot or a motion of a component of themobile robot based on the gesture motion.
 15. The mobile robot of claim11, wherein the input of the pose setting of the mobile robot includes aselection of a traveling pattern to be performed by the mobile robotduring the first time, and wherein the controller further manages thewheel to selectively rotate based on the traveling pattern.
 16. Themobile robot of claim 6, wherein the display is a first display, andwherein the mobile robot further includes a second display providedbelow the first display, the second display presenting informationrelated to the guidance function performed by the mobile robot.
 17. Themobile robot of claim 6, wherein the camera includes a plurality of red,green, blue, and distance (RGBD) sensors.
 18. The mobile robot of claim6, further comprising a speaker to output a guidance message, theguidance message including instructions to the user related to themobile robot photographing the user when the first graphical object isselected, or to the mobile robot performing the pose when the secondgraphical object is selected.
 19. The method of claim 1, whereinperforming the posing process further includes: receiving a selection ofat least one of a gesture motion or a travel pattern to be performed bythe mobile robot, and controlling the mobile robot to perform the atleast one of the gesture motion or the travel pattern during theparticular time based on the user selecting the third graphical object.20. The mobile robot of claim 6, wherein the controller is furtherconfigured to manage the display, after presenting the photographingresult screen, to present a gift provision pop-up window including afirst item to allow the user to reject receipt of the captured image,and second item to allow the user to approve receipt of the capturedimage, wherein the captured image is discarded based on a user selectionof the first item from the gift provision pop-up window, and thecommunication interface transmits the captured image to the other devicebased on receiving a user selection of the second item from the giftprovision pop-up window.